Location-based mobile storytelling using beacons

ABSTRACT

There is provided a system and method for location-based mobile storytelling using beacons. The system including a memory storing a storytelling software application, the storytelling software application configured to generate a story that includes a plurality of segments, each segment of the plurality of segments of the story being associated with one of a plurality of beacons, and a processor configured to execute the storytelling software application to receive a first message transmitted from a first beacon of the plurality of beacons, determine a first beacon identity of the first beacon using the first message, generate a first segment of the plurality of segments of the story based on the first beacon identity, the first segment of the story being associated with the first beacon, and play the first segment of the story.

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/375,151, filed Apr. 4, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,455,035, which is aContinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/509,314, filed Oct. 8,2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,320,924, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety into the present application.

BACKGROUND

Storytelling can be a fun activity for people of all ages, especiallychildren. It gives children both the opportunity to pick a book up andread a story, or use their own imagination to create their very ownstory. However, storytelling activities for children currently havelimitations that may cause storytelling to become boring for thechildren. For example, after a child has read a book, that child mightfind it boring to re-read the same book as both the story and theanimated characters in the book remain the same. For another example,when a child is creating his or her own book, the child may find theexperience boring as he or she is probably limited to a pen and paper.

Nowadays, the digital world has also provided children with fun andentertaining activities, which children can play on using their very ownmobile devices. For example, children are able to download softwareapplications onto their mobile devices that allow them to play differentboard games, trivia games, sports games, or other activities that can beentertaining. This allows children to experience the activities thatthey use to play in the physical world on their very own mobile devices.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to location-based mobile storytellingusing beacons, substantially as shown in and/or described in connectionwith at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 presents a system that is used for location-based mobilestorytelling using beacons, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 presents an example of using location-based mobile storytellingusing beacons, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for location-based mobilestorytelling using beacons, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description contains specific information pertaining toimplementations in the present disclosure. The drawings in the presentapplication and their accompanying detailed description are directed tomerely exemplary implementations. Unless noted otherwise, like orcorresponding elements among the figures may be indicated by like orcorresponding reference numerals. Moreover, the drawings andillustrations in the present application are generally not to scale, andare not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

FIG. 1 presents a system that is used for location-based mobilestorytelling using beacons, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure. System 100 of FIG. 1 includes mobile device 110,server 140, and beacon 150 a and beacon 150 b (collectively referred toas beacons 150). Mobile device 110 includes processor 111, display 112,user interface 113, communication interface 114, and memory 115. Memory115 includes software application 120, which includes beacon database121 and storytelling database 122. Beacon database 121 includes beaconidentification 123, beacon location 124, and beacon information 125.Storytelling database 122 includes story 126, story instructions 127,and story characters 128. Story 126 includes segment 129 a and segment129 b, collectively referred to as segments 129. Server 140 includesprocessor 141, communication interface 142, and memory 143. Memory 143includes beacon database 121 and storytelling database 122. Beacon 150 aincludes processor 151 a, communication interface 152 b, and memory 153a. Memory 153 a includes beacon identification (ID) 154 a. Beacon 150 bincludes processor 151 b, communication interface 152 b, and memory 153b. Memory 153 b includes beacon identification (ID) 154 b.

System 100 is used to provide a user (not shown) in possession of mobiledevice 110 with a location-based storytelling experience. In oneimplementation, the location-based storytelling experience may includedisplaying story 126 to the user in possession of mobile device 110,where story 126 is pre-generated and loaded within software application120. In such an implementation, story 126 may be separated intodifferent segments 129, where each of segments 129 is associated withone of beacons 150. For example, story 126 may include, but is notlimited to, written literature that is broken up into chapters oraudiovisual content that is broken up into different scenes. In such anexample, segments 129 of story 126 may each include one or more of thechapters and scenes. Furthermore, each of segments 129 may be associatedwith one of beacons 150, which is explained in greater detail below.

In another implementation, the user in possession of mobile device 110may use software application 120 to create story 126 for thelocation-based storytelling experience. In such an implementation, theuser associates beacons 150 with segments 129 of story 126. For example,the user may break his or her created story 126 into segments 129, whichcorrespond to one or more chapters or scenes. In such an example, theuser would associated each of segments 129 with one or more of beacons150, as will also be explained in greater detail below.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, system 100 includes four separate devices incommunication with one another, mobile device 110, server 140, and twobeacons 150. Each of the devices of system 100 may include a personalcomputer, a mobile phone, a tablet, a Bluetooth beacon, or any otherdevice capable of communicating with other devices using any wired orwireless technology. For example, in one implementation, mobile device110 includes a mobile phone or tablet computer, while each of beacons150 includes a Bluetooth beacons, or beacon using any other wirelesstechnology. In such an implementation, beacons 150 may transmit data tomobile device 110 using a wireless technology.

It should be noted that the implementation of FIG. 1 only illustratesone mobile device 110, one server 140, and two beacons 150, however, thepresent disclosure is not limited to the implementation of FIG. 1. Inother implementations, there may be any number of mobile devices,servers, and beacons in communication with one another. For example, inother implementations, mobile device 110 may be in communication withone beacon, or mobile device 110 may be in communication with more thantwo beacons.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1, mobile device 110 includes user interface113 and display 112. User interface 113 may comprise, for example, akeyboard, a mouse, a game controller, a touch-screen input, a thermaland/or electrical sensor, or any other device capable of accepting userinput for use with mobile device 110. Display 112 may comprise a liquidcrystal display (“LCD”), a light-emitting diode (“LED”), an organiclight-emitting diode (“OLED”), or another suitable display screen builtinto mobile device 110 that performs a physical transformation ofsignals to light. In some implementations, display 112 may also be touchsensitive and may serve as user interface 113.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1, mobile device 110 includes processor 111 andmemory 115. Processor 111 may be configured to access memory 115 tostore received input or to execute commands, processes, or programsstored in memory 115, such as software application 120. Processor 111may correspond to a processing device, such as a microprocessor orsimilar hardware processing device, or a plurality of hardware devices.Memory 115 is a sufficient memory capable of storing commands,processes, and programs for execution by processor 111.

It should be noted that processor 141 and memory 143 of server 140,processor 151 a and memory 153 a of beacon 150 a, and processor 151 band memory 153 b of beacon 150 b may be similar to processor 111 andmemory 115 of mobile device 110. For example, processor 141 of server140 may be configured to access memory 143 to store received input or toexecute commands, processes, or programs stored in memory 143. For asecond example, processor 151 a of beacon 150 a may be configured toaccess memory 153 a to store received input or to execute commands,processes, or programs stored in memory 153 a. Finally, for a thirdexample, processor 151 b of beacon 150 b may be configured to accessmemory 153 b to store received input or to execute commands, processes,or programs stored in memory 153 b.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1, mobile device 110 further includescommunication interface 114. In the implementation of FIG. 1,communication interface 114 includes any device that is capable bothtransmitting data with a transmitter and receiving data with a receiver.Processor 111 of mobile device 110 is thus configured to controlcommunication interface 114 to communicate with other electronicdevices, such as server 140 and beacons 150. As such, communicationinterface 114 can utilize, for example, one or more of Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax),ZigBee, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Algorithm Division MultipleAccess (CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Global System forMobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and other typesof wired and wireless technology.

It should be noted that communication interface 142 of server 140,communication interface 152 a of beacon 150 a, and communicationinterface 152 b of beacon 150 b similar to communication interface 114of mobile device 110. For example, in one implementation, as discussedabove, beacons 150 may be transmitting data to mobile device 110 usingBluetooth wireless technology. In such an implementation, each ofbeacons 150 may be communicating with mobile device 110 using Bluetoothspecifications.

As shown in FIG. 1, mobile device 110 includes software application 120.In the implementation of FIG. 1, mobile device 110 utilizes softwareapplication 120 to give users of mobile device 110 location-basedstorytelling experiences. As such, software application 120 may includesource code automatically running on mobile device 110, or launched by auser of mobile device 110, that is used to provide users with thelocation-based storytelling experiences. Furthermore, softwareapplication 120 may have come preloaded on mobile device 110, orsoftware application 120 may be downloaded and installed by a user ofmobile device 110.

Software application 120 provides users with location-based storytellingexperiences using beacons 150. As illustrated in FIG. 1, beacon 150 atransmits beacon ID 154 a to mobile device 110, and beacon 150 btransmits beacon ID 154 b to mobile device 110. Each of beacon ID 154 aand beacon ID 154 b may include a data packet that includes the identityof beacon 150 a and beacon 150 b, respectively. For example, each ofbeacon ID 154 a and beacon ID 154 may include a data packet thatincludes the universal unique identifier (UUID) of beacon 150 a andbeacon 150 b. Beacon 150 a may transmit beacon ID 154 a to mobile device110 when mobile device 110 gets within range of beacon 150 a, and beacon150 b may transmit beacon ID 154 b to mobile device 110 when mobiledevice 110 gets within range of beacon 150 b.

For example, and as discussed above where beacons 150 include Bluetoothbeacons, beacon 150 a may be transmitting advertisements at givenintervals that include beacon ID 154 a. In such an example, mobiledevice 110 may receive one of the advertisements including beacon ID 154a when a user in possession of mobile device 110 gets within range ofbeacon 150 a. For another example, and still using the example abovewhere beacons 150 include Bluetooth beacons, mobile device 110 may betransmitting advertisements at given intervals. In such an example,beacon 150 a may receive one of the advertisements (not shown) frommobile device 110 when mobile device 110 gets within range of beacon 150a. Beacon 150 a may then transmit beacon ID 154 a within anotheradvertisement back to mobile device 110 in response to the receiving ofthe advertisement from mobile device 110.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, software application 120 includes beacondatabase 121. Beacon database 121 may include a database of storedinformation about each of the beacons that are utilized for thelocation-based storytelling experiences, such as beacons 150. Asillustrated in the implementation of FIG. 1, beacon database 121includes beacon identification 123, beacon location 124, and beaconinformation 125.

Beacon identification 123 may include data corresponding to theidentifications of all of the beacons that may be utilized whengenerating location-based storytelling experiences. For example, mobiledevice 110 may use beacon identification 123 to determine which beacontransmitted a message (e.g. beacon identification) when mobile device110 receives the message from a beacon. Beacon location 124 may includedata corresponding to the locations of all of the beacons that may beutilized when generating location-based storytelling experiences. Forexample, mobile device 110 may use beacon location 124 to determineeither the geographic location (or area) of the beacon, or how closemobile device 110 is to the beacon that transmitted the receivedmessage. Finally, beacon information 125 may include data correspondingto information about all of the beacons that may be utilized whengenerating location-based storytelling experiences. For example, beaconinformation 125 may include, but is not limited to, which segment of thelocation-based story the beacon is associated with, an identity for anobject the beacon may be located in, and if the location-based storyutilizes more than one beacon in a defined order, where in the definedorder the beacon belongs to.

For example, a user in possession of mobile device 110 may be usingmobile device 110 to generate a location-based story 126 that includestwo segments 129, a first segment 129 a and a second segment 129 b. Insuch example, beacon 150 a may be located in the user's kitchen and beassociated with segment 129 a of the story 126. Furthermore, beacon 150b may be located in the user's bedroom and be associated with segment129 b of story 126.

To generate the location-based storytelling experience for the exampleabove, the user may first walk into the kitchen and receive beacon ID154 a transmitted from beacon 150 a. After receiving beacon ID 154 afrom beacon 150 a, mobile device 110 may execute software application120 to determine beacon 150 a transmitted beacon ID 154 a using beaconidentification 123, determine beacon 150 a is located in the kitchenusing beacon location 124, and determine that beacon 150 a is associatedwith segment 129 a of story 126 using beacon information 125. Mobiledevice 110 may then execute software application 120 to both generateand display segment 129 a of story 126, which is explained in greaterdetail below.

Continuing with the example above, and after experiencing segment 129 aof story 126, the user may decide to finish story 126 by viewing segment129 b of story 126. To finish story 126, the user may then walk into thebedroom and receive beacon ID 154 b transmitted from beacon 150 b. Afterreceiving beacon ID 154 b from beacon 150 b, mobile device 110 mayexecute software application 120 to determine beacon 150 b transmittedbeacon ID 154 b using beacon identification 123, determine beacon 150 bis located in the bedroom using beacon location 124, and determine thatbeacon 150 b is associated with segment 129 b of story 126 using beaconinformation 125. Mobile device 110 may then execute software application120 to both generate and display segment 129 b of story 126, which isexplained in greater detail below.

With reference to FIG. 1, software application 120 further includesstorytelling database 122. Storytelling database 122 may be used bysoftware application 120 to generate the location-based storytellingexperience. For example, storytelling database 122 may generate segments129 of the location-based story 126 each time mobile device 110 receivesone or more beacon identifications transmitted from one or more beacons,or storytelling database 122 may generate the entire location-basedstory 126 after receiving all of the beacon identifications for all ofthe beacons.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, storytelling database 122 includes story 126,story instructions 127, and story characters 128. Story 126 may includedata corresponding to a location-based story that is generated anddisplayed to a user that is in possession of mobile device 110. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, story 126 includes two separate segments 129,segment 129 a and segment 129 b. In the implementation of FIG. 1,segment 129 a may be associated with beacon 150 a and segment 129 b maybe associated with beacon 150 b. As such, software application 120 willutilize storytelling database 122 to generate segment 129 a of story 126when mobile device 110 receives beacon ID 154 a from beacon 150 a, andgenerate segment 129 b of story 126 when mobile device 110 receivesbeacon ID 154 b from beacon 150 b.

It should be noted that the implementation of FIG. 1 only illustratesstory 126 as including two segments 129, however, the present disclosureis not limited to the implementation of FIG. 1. For example, in otherimplementations, story 126 may include any number of segments 129. Insuch an example, each of segments 129 may be associated with a singlebeacon, or two or more of segments 129 may be associated with a singlebeacon.

In one implementation, a user may use software application 120 to createhis or her own location-based story 126. In such an implementation, theuser may break story 126 into segments 129 and associate each ofsegments 129 with one of beacons 150. For example, the user may usesoftware application 120 to create a story 126 about a city, where story126 includes scenes corresponding to different geographic locationswithin a city. In such an example, the user may associate segment 129 aof story 126 with the post office of the city, and the user mayassociate segment 129 b of story 126 with the restaurant of the city. Assuch, if the user first walks within range of beacon 150 a, softwareapplication 120 will cause mobile device 110 to display segment 129 a ofstory 126, which may include displaying a post office environment. Next,if the user then walks within range of beacon 150 b, softwareapplication 120 will cause mobile device 110 to display segment 129 b ofstory 126, which may include displaying a restaurant environment.

Story instructions 127 may include data corresponding to instructionsthat are provided to a user of mobile device 110 when generating thelocation-based story. For example, and using the example above, story126 may include a first segment 129 a which is associated with beacon150 a located in the user's kitchen and a second segment 129 b which isassociated with beacon 150 b located in the user's bedroom. In such anexample, story instructions 127 may be used to tell the user inpossession of mobile device 110 to go to the kitchen first to findbeacon 150 a and then go to the bedroom second to find beacon 150 b. Assuch, the user will be provided with segment 129 a of story 126 firstafter going in the kitchen and then the user will be provided withsegment 129 b of story 126 second after going in the bedroom.

Story characters 128 may include data corresponding to differentcharacters that can be used with location-based stories. For example,story characters 128 may include, but are not limited to, people,animated characters, and avatars. Software application 120 may thus usestory characters 128 when generating story 126 to give the user a morepersonal and fun experience. For example, and as will be discussed infurther details below, one or more of beacons 150 is located within anobject, such as a stuffed animal. In such an example, story characters128 may include an animated character that looks like the stuffed animaland software application 120 may use the animated character in story126.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1, system 100 includes server 140. Inimplementations that include server 140, mobile device 110 may utilizeserver 140 to either generate the location-based storytellingexperience, or mobile device 110 may utilize server 140 to updatesoftware application 120. For example, in one implementation, mobiledevice 110 may not include software application 120. In such animplementation, mobile device 110 may communicate with server 140 togenerate the location-based storytelling experience for the user inpossession of mobile device 110 in a similar method as described aboveusing beacon database 121 and storytelling database 122 stored on server140. For another example, in another implementation, server 140 may beused to update software application 120 on mobile device 110. In such animplementation, server 140 may update mobile device 110 at given timeintervals or each time a new location-based story is created for beacons150.

In one implementation, one or more beacons 150 may be located within anobject. In such an implementation, the object may also be used bysoftware application 120 when generating the location-based storytellingexperience. For example, beacon information 125 may include an identityfor the object the beacon is located in. In such an example, softwareapplication 120 may use the identity of the object when generating thesegment of the location-based story that is associated with the beacon.

For example, and using the example above, beacon 150 a may be located inthe kitchen of the user's house and be associated with a post office,while beacon 150 b is located in the bedroom of the user's house andassociated with a restaurant. Furthermore, beacon 150 b may be includedwithin a stuffed animal, such as a stuffed animal of a dog. In such anexample, when the user in possession of mobile device 110 enters thekitchen and gets within range of beacon 150 a, software application 120may cause display 112 to show segment 129 a of story 126, which mayinclude a post office environment. Furthermore, when the user enters thebedroom and gets within range of beacon 150 b, software application 120may cause display 112 to show segment 129 b of story 126, which mayinclude a restaurant environment. However, since beacon 150 b is locatedwithin a stuffed animal of a dog, software application 120 may furthercause display 112 to show an animated dog within the restaurantenvironment, where the animated dog looks similar to the stuffed animalof the dog.

FIG. 2 presents an example of using location-based mobile storytellingusing beacons, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 2 includes house 270, which includes room 271 a, room271 b, room 271 c, room 271 d, room 271 e, and room 271 f, collectivelyreferred to as rooms 271. Also illustrated in FIG. 2 is beacon 250 a,beacon 250 b, beacon 250 c, beacon 250 d, beacon 250 e, and beacon 250f, collectively referred to as beacons 250, beacon ID 254, and object255 a and object 255 b, collectively referred to as objects 255, locatedwithin house 270. Furthermore, mobile device 210 running softwareapplication 220 is also located within house 270.

With regard to FIG. 2, it should be noted that mobile device 210,software application 220, beacon 250 a, beacon 250 b, and beacon ID 254correspond respectively to mobile device 110, software application 120,beacon 150 a, beacon 150 b, and beacon ID 254 a from FIG. 1.Furthermore, many features have been left out of FIG. 2 for claritypurposes.

In the implementation of FIG. 2, a user in possession of mobile device210 may be using software application 220 running on mobile device 210to create a location-based storytelling experience. In order to createthe location-based storytelling experience, each of beacons 250 may beassociated with a different segment of a location-based story. Forexample, beacons 250 may have already been associated with differentsegments of a pre-generated location-based story when the user purchasedbeacons 250, or the user may have associated beacons 250 to differentsegments of his or her own location-based story.

For example, the location-based story may be based in a city and each ofbeacons 250 may be associated with a different building or geographiclocation within the city. In such an example, beacon 250 a located inroom 271 a (the kitchen) may be associated with a post office, beacon250 b located in room 271 b (the first bedroom) may be associated with arestaurant, beacon 250 c located in room 271 c (the bathroom) may beassociated with a school, beacon 250 d located in room 271 d (the secondbedroom) may be associated with a playground, beacon 250 e located inroom 271 e (the living room) may be associated with a zoo, and beacon250 f located in room 271 f (the office) may be associated with a beach.Furthermore, beacon 250 e may be located within object 255 a, which mayinclude a stuffed animal of a lion, and beacon 250 f may be locatedwithin object 255 b, which may include a stuffed animal of a bird.

To create the location-based storytelling experience, the user inpossession of mobile device 210 walks into different rooms 271throughout house 270 to receive the different segments of thelocation-based story. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the user first walksinto room 271 a, which includes beacon 250 a. In response to the userwalking into room 271 a and getting within range of beacon 250 a, mobiledevice 210 receives beacon ID 254 from beacon 250 a. As discussed above,beacon ID 254 may include the UUID of beacon 250 a. After receivingbeacon ID 254 from beacon 250 a, software application 220 running onmobile device 210 uses beacon ID 254 to determine that beacon 250 atransmitted beacon ID 254 and that beacon 250 a is associated with thepost office. Software application 220 then causes mobile device 210 todisplay the segment of the location-based story that corresponds to thepost office. For example, software application 220 may cause mobiledevice 210 to display a post office environment to the user. In such anexample, the post office environment may include different characters(such as a post office worker) and music that represent a post officetheme.

After the user has enjoyed the first segment of the location-basedstory, the user may then decide to walk into one of the other rooms 271of house 270 to enjoy other segments of the location-based story. Asdiscussed above, in one implementation, the location-based story mayinclude a specific sequence for beacons 250 based on the location-basedstory. In such an implementation, software application 220 may causemobile device 210 to display detailed instructions to the user for whichof beacons 250 to go to next, such as story instructions 127 fromFIG. 1. However, in other implementations, the location-based story maynot include a specific sequence for beacons 250. In such animplementation, the user is free to create his or her own location-basedstory that is based on the order the user chooses for visiting each ofbeacons 250.

For example, the user in possession of mobile device 210 may walk intoroom 271 b next, which includes beacon 250 b. In response to the userwalking into room 271 b and getting within range of beacon 250 b, mobiledevice 210 may receive a beacon ID (not shown) from beacon 250 b. Afterreceiving the beacon ID from beacon 250 b, software application 220running on mobile device 210 may then use the beacon ID to determinethat beacon 250 b transmitted the beacon ID and that beacon 250 b isassociated with the restaurant. Software application 220 may then causemobile device 210 to display the segment of the location-based storythat corresponds to the restaurant. For example, software application220 may cause mobile device 210 to display a restaurant environment tothe user. In such an example, the restaurant environment may includedifferent characters (such as waiters or a hostess) and music thatrepresent a restaurant theme.

For another example, the user in possession of mobile device 210 maywalk into room 271 e next, which includes beacon 250 e. In response tothe user walking into room 271 e and getting within range of beacon 250e, mobile device 210 may receive a beacon ID (not shown) from beacon 250e. After receiving the beacon ID from beacon 250 e, software application220 running on mobile device 210 may then use the beacon ID to determinethat beacon 250 e transmitted the beacon ID and that beacon 250 e isassociated with the zoo and included within object 255 a. Softwareapplication 220 may then cause mobile device 210 to display the segmentof the location-based story that corresponds to the zoo. For example,software application 220 may cause mobile device 210 to display a zooenvironment to the user. In such an example, the zoo environment mayinclude a character that corresponds to object 255 a, such as ananimated lion that looks like object 255 a.

It should be noted that the implementation of FIG. 2 only illustratesbeacons 250 being located within house 270, however, the presentdisclosure is not limited to the implementation of FIG. 2. In otherimplementations, beacons 250 may be located within other locations suchas, but not limited to, theme parks, sporting events, or carnivals. Forexample, in one implementation, beacons 250 may be located within atheme park. In such an implementation, each of beacons 250 may beassociated with a defined geographic area of the theme park. Forexample, beacon 250 a may be located within a geographic area of thetheme park that includes a pirate theme. In such an example, softwareapplication 220 may cause mobile device 210 to display a pirateenvironment with pirate themed characters and music in response toreceiving beacon ID 254 from beacon 250 a.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for location-based mobilestorytelling using beacons, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure. The approach and technique indicated by flowchart300 are sufficient to describe at least one implementation of thepresent disclosure, however, other implementations of the disclosure mayutilize approaches and techniques different from those shown inflowchart 300. Furthermore, while flowchart 300 is described withrespect to FIG. 1, the disclosed inventive concepts are not intended tobe limited by specific features shown and described with respect toFIG. 1. Furthermore, with respect to the method illustrated in FIG. 3,it is noted that certain details and features have been left out offlowchart 300 in order not to obscure the discussion of inventivefeatures in the present application.

Referring now to flowchart 300 of FIG. 3, flowchart 300 (at 310)includes receiving a message transmitted from a beacon from a pluralityof beacons. For example, processor 111 of mobile device 110 may executesoftware application 120 to receive beacon ID 154 a transmitted frombeacon 150 a from beacons 150. As discussed, in one implementation,beacon 150 a may include a Bluetooth beacon. In such an implementation,mobile device 110 may receive an advertisement transmitted from beacon150 a that includes beacon ID 154 a.

Flowchart 300 (at 320) continues with determining an identity of thebeacon using the message. For example, processor 111 of mobile device110 may execute software application 120 to determine the identity ofbeacon 150 a using beacon ID 154 a. As discussed above, softwareapplication 120 may use beacon database 121 to determine the identity ofbeacon 150 a using beacon ID 154 a.

Flowchart 300 (at 330) continues with generating one of a plurality ofsegments of a story based on the identity of the beacon, the one of theplurality of segments of the story being associated with the beacon. Forexample, processor 111 of mobile device 110 may execute softwareapplication 120 to generate segment 129 a of story 126 based on theidentity of beacon 150 a, where segment 129 a of story 126 is associatedwith beacon 150 a. As discussed above, software application 120 maygenerate segment 129 a of story 126 using storytelling database 122.Furthermore, software application 120 may have come pre-loaded withsegment 129 a of story 126 being associated with beacon 150 a, or a userin possession of mobile device may have associated segment 129 a ofstory 126 with beacon 150 a.

Flowchart 300 (at 340) continues with playing the one of the pluralityof parts of the story. For example, processor 111 of mobile device 110may execute software application 120 to play segment 129 a of story 126.As discussed above, displaying segment 129 a of story 126 may includedisplaying a location-based environment that corresponds to segment 129a of story 126 on display 112. For example, and using the example above,story 126 may be based in a city and beacon 150 a may be associated withthe post office of the city. In such an example, software application120 may cause display 112 to display a post office environment forsegment 129 a of story 126, where the post office environment mayinclude different characters (such as a post office worker) and musicthat represent a post office theme.

Flowchart 300 (at 350) may optionally continue with repeating the abovemethod for at least another beacon from the plurality of beacons. Forexample, processor 111 of mobile device 110 may execute softwareapplication 120 to repeat the above method for beacon 150 b from beacons150. As discussed above, software application 120 will generate anddisplay segment 129 b of story 126 after receiving beacon ID 154 b frombeacon 150 b.

From the above description it is manifest that various techniques can beused for implementing the concepts described in the present applicationwithout departing from the scope of those concepts. Moreover, while theconcepts have been described with specific reference to certainimplementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat changes can be made in form and detail without departing from thescope of those concepts. As such, the described implementations are tobe considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Itshould also be understood that the present application is not limited tothe particular implementations described above, but many rearrangements,modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a memory storing astorytelling database, the storytelling database having a storyassociated with one or more beacons; and a processor configured to:receive a first message transmitted from a first beacon of the one ormore beacons; determine a first object identity associated with thefirst beacon using the first message; obtain one or more segments of thestory including a first animation of a first object corresponding to thefirst object identity; and play the one or more segments of the storyincluding the first animation of the first object.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the first beacon is part of the first object.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the device is a server.
 4. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the device is a mobile device.
 5. The device of claim4, wherein the mobile device includes a display, and wherein theprocessor is configured to play the one or more segments of the story onthe display of the mobile device.
 6. The device of claim 4, wherein eachof the one or more beacons includes a Bluetooth device, and wherein themobile device is configured to receive the first message from the firstbeacon using the Bluetooth device.
 7. The device of claim 1, whereinafter playing the one or more segments of the story, the processor isfurther configured to: provide instructions to a user of the device tomove to another location for locating a second beacon.
 8. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the first beacon is located in a defined geographiclocation, and wherein to obtain the one or more segments of the storythe processor is configured to: determine the defined geographiclocation using the first beacon identity of the first beacon; and obtainthe one or more segments of the story based on the defined geographiclocation.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the defined geographiclocation includes a room in a house or a geographic location within apark.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: associate another one of the one or more segments withanother one of the one or more beacons according to a selection by auser of the device prior to receiving the first message.
 11. A methodfor use by a device including a processor and a memory storing astorytelling database, the storytelling database having a storyassociated with one or more beacons, the method comprising: receiving,using the processor, a first message transmitted from a first beacon ofthe one or more beacons; determining, using the processor, a firstobject identity associated with the first beacon using the firstmessage; obtaining, using the processor, one or more segments of thestory including a first animation of a first object corresponding to thefirst object identity; and playing, using the processor, the one or moresegments of the story including the first animation of the first object.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first beacon is part of thefirst object.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the device is aserver.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the device is a mobiledevice.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the mobile device includes adisplay, and wherein the processor plays the one or more segments of thestory on the display of the mobile device.
 16. The method of claim 14,wherein each of the one or more beacons includes a Bluetooth device, andwherein the mobile device receives the first message from the firstbeacon using the Bluetooth device.
 17. The method of claim 11, whereinafter playing the one or more segments of the story, the method furthercomprises: providing instructions to a user of the device to move toanother location for locating a second beacon.
 18. The method of claim11, wherein the first beacon is located in a defined geographiclocation, and obtaining the one or more segments of the story includes:determining the defined geographic location using the first beaconidentity of the first beacon; and obtaining the one or more segments ofthe story based on the defined geographic location.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the defined geographic location includes a room in ahouse or a geographic location within a park.
 20. The method of claim 11further comprising: associating another one of the one or more segmentswith another one of the one or more beacons according to a selection bya user of the device prior to receiving the first message.